Like Mother, Like Daughter

Yesterday was the beginning of the busy season at Sundance, or so I've been told. I've actually yet to see the ski school very busy. Usually there are about 50 instructors and maybe 10 students. Anyway, because of the "busy-ness" the next 10 days are mandatory. Now, having been a stay at home mom most of their little lives, my children have been complaining about me going skiing without them. I must admit, I do feel slightly guilty for leaving them and hanging out with other people's children. So today I made a last minute decision to take Natalie up with me in hopes of her being able to jump into a class. Well, she was able to jump into my class. We had one other little girl in our class. It was really fun to actually teach one of my own kids to ski today. She did really well and is now able to stop and go slow. She's still working on turning and not running into me. Everytime she stopped, she would fall on her bum and start giggling. It was so cute. After we dropped the other little girl off to her parents, I gave Natalie the option of lunch right away or one "quick" run. She chose skiing to my delight. Nice to know my girl has her priorities straight. I'm hoping to get Garrett up there next time. I feel bad for having to work during their entire winter break, but maybe taking them with me will make up for it a little.

A Perfect Day

Today a storm blew in. I'm actually watching the snow as I type. Now, to most people, the sight of a cold, winter snow storm brings dread. But not to me. Right now I'm thinking two things: I hope Gary drives safely home soon, and POWDER! So today I drove up to work expecting to spend the day teaching a bunch of 5th graders from Wasatch Elementary how to ski. I drove up, with my brand new snow tires (an early Christmas present from my sweetie) eager to see how they handled the snow. The guy at Big O said that I could climb a mountain if I wanted. That made me feel powerful. But, to my dismay, no snow. Oh well. Maybe tomorrow.

So anyway...I ended up with a private lesson. A 10 year old girl who loves to ski powder. So I spent 2 1/2 hours skiing powder. And I get paid for this!!!!! What could be better than skiing powder and getting paid to do it?

At afternoon lineup, apparently there were no lessons so we had the option to go home or ski. Hmmmm. That was a hard decision, but being the good mom that I am, I decided to go home and hang out with my kiddos. Well, I am so glad that I did! This little storm moved in as I got to Garrett's school to pick him up and out walks my sweet little man in pajamas (It was polar express day, they were supposed to be in pajamas. I do not generally send my kids to school in their jammies), no hat, no gloves. My baby would have frozen on the way home! I would have had a Garrettsicle! And I got to try out my new tires on the snow drifts on the ride over. I'm so glad I listened to that prompting to go home.

So now, I'm going to go and wrap up in a warm blanket, snuggle my babies and watch a great Christmas show. The dishes can wait. The beds can be made later. Today was a Powder day.

And it was perfect.

Update

Life has been sooo crazy so it has been a while since my last post. So, here's an update.


November was just full of wonderful things. The most wonderful being that my sweet little boy (I guess he's not so little anymore) Garrett turned 8! He had a party and invited some boys from school and the neighborhood. Boys are a lot harder to entertain than girls are and we had a few little glitches. I thought that they would watch a movie, apparently movies are boring. So we had to improvise a bit and they ended up doing a treasure hunt in the field down the street and playing tag. Then they ate pizza. And ended the party by shooting each other with the nerf guns that Garrett got for his birthday. Boys are sooo different from girls. We even had a few older boys that weren't exactly invited, show up for games and pizza.

I think Garrett may have been a little overwhelmed. Maybe next year we'll keep things a little smaller...




Garrett was baptized on November 29. He had his own little baptism because some of our family members were going out of town on the day that the stake usually does baptisms. I don't have any pictures because my camera is out of commission, but some other family members got some and will email them to me (hint hint Channa) and then I will post them. It was a wonderful day. I was so proud of my two favorite guys sitting there in white. I'm so greatful that Gary was able to baptize Garrett. I love them both so much.

We spent Thanksgiving with my dad's side of the family. It was nice and peaceful and the food was good. What more is there to say about Thanksgiving?

In November I got this strange little urge to go skiing. Well, those of you who ski know that it is a pretty expensive hobby. Fortunately for me though, I just happen to be a certified ski instructor. So, I applied at The Canyons and Sundance. I was offered both jobs and decided to go with Sundance because it's a closer drive (45 minutes v. 2 hours). The training has been great and I did my first official lesson yesterday. I LOVE my job! What could beat skiing all day long and getting paid to do it? I can't wait to get my kids up there on skis. I also plan on getting more certification and improving my skiing (maybe finally learn to ski bumps and look good doing it...).

And now...as promised...(drum roll please) here's the Halloween post!

Lily the Ladybug. Not so thrilled with being a ladybug. Wishing she could eat the candy. Man, life sure isn't fair when you're a baby. You do all the trick-or-treating, and everybody else gets to eat your candy.

Natalie was Sharpay this year. Don't you just love the attitude?

Sara decided that she would be Pinkalicious for Halloween. For those of you asking, "Who or what is a Pinkalicious?" she is a character from Sara's favorite book. She eats too many pink cupcakes and turns pink. She dons her best princess apparel and is just thrilled with being pink. My friend Jodi, who is way too talented for her own good and should pass some of that to the rest of us, made her costume. By the end of the night, she had dropped the puffy skirt because she had a bit of a hard time walking in it, but she sure looked adorable.

And Garrett was Optimus Prime. He wasn't too crazy about getting his picture taken. Yes, my children are barefoot in this picture. But in my defense, it was an unusally warm Halloween this year.

A Rant on Black Friday

Okay, so this was the first in about 6 years that I haven't gone shopping the day after Thanksgiving. To me, it was kind of like the beginning of the Christmas season. I enjoyed the crowds, the waiting in line, the finding of the perfect present with the perfect price. But this year Gary had to work, so I stayed home and set up the Christmas tree with the kids, hung the lights in the trees and went to the annual Spanish Fork Christmas light parade with many of my Abbott cousins. And cleaned my house. I thought that I would miss "Black Friday" shopping, but I didn't.

Then...I began hearing the news of the Wal-Mart employee that was literally trampled to death by a mob trying to save a few bucks on a TV. Hello? Are you kidding me? Since when did saving a few dollars and buying a bunch of junk that nobody even needs become more valuable than a human life? What has happened to Christmas? When did it become such a consumer driven holiday? I've been wanting to get back to the true meaning of Christmas for a long time. Every year I think "do we really need so much stuff?" (especially when I'm cleaning the basement and see all of the toys).

Of course, I am a mom and moms typically want to give their children everything that their little hearts desire. But what am I doing to them in the process? Am I creating the next generation of soul-less Wal-Mart tramplers? Okay, I know that's a little extreme. But...I think that as parents we owe it to our kids to back off a little. Do our children really need all the stuff that we buy for them? Do they even really WANT most of it? Or does it just end up broken and forgotten and moved over for next years' loot. I think most of the time kids would rather have us spend time with them. That is what I think is lacking in a child's life. Not stuff. Our children have plenty of stuff. What they really need is our time. And that, my friends, is the end of my rant.

A Serious Addiction

Gary says that I'm obsessed. I don't agree, but every time the weather begins to get cold my heart begins to long for the adrenaline of flying down a mountain, creating delicate arcs in the snow. Feeling the wind on my face, the crisp air coloring my cheeks. The feel of the snow rushing below me. The scenery...oh the beautiful scenery. I begin to dream of the perfect, unmarked run just waiting for me to add my signature. My skis become just an extension of my body. No, I'm not obsessed, well, maybe just a little!

Good Times

I know that I am skipping Halloween posting, but I'll do it later, like maybe in December. Last week was pretty great. My friend Allison, whom I haven't seen or talked to in like 10 years, was in town visiting her family and came to see me (thank you Facebook). It was so much fun to see her and her three darling kids. It's funny how ten years can pass and you can still be friends like no time has passed at all. She didn't even look ten years older (I'm pretty sure that I do though).

Then, my friend Debby blessed her new baby boy in our home ward. It was great seeing her again. I think it's been about three years since I've seen or talked to her. We went over to her house after church and it was just like old times. Sitting in her kitchen, talking like we were teenagers again. Remembering the time we blew her parents' $50,000 (give or take) speakers, how we used to live off of ice cream and magic shell, how we made up our own language. Her parents were like second (or I guess third in my case) parents to me. It was fun seeing them again too. I didn't realize how much I had missed them all! And once again, it was if no time had passed.

On a side note...I noticed on Sunday in my home ward how the younger generation (mine) have all aged and are married and all grown up. But...the older generation (like my mom's) all seem to be in a time warp. I swear they all looked exactly how I remembered them! Maybe they all found the fountain of youth, or maybe just a great plastic surgeon. Who knows?

I am totally looking forward to the exciting things that this week brings me...

Carving Pumpkins

Last night, Gary and the kids carved some of the pumpkins while I went on a much needed girls' night out with some friends. Gary had the kids each draw a picture of what they wanted their jack-o-lantern to look like and then he helped them create it.

Garrett wanted his pumpkin to have spikey hair. He also wanted to put the pieces back into the pumpkin to make it extra scary.

Natalie wanted her jack-o-lantern, or is it a jane-o-lantern, to have a beautiful necklace with a jewel. And Sara wanted hers to be cute instead of scary.

He even let them help scoop the "guts" out.

Who knew I had a group of professional pumpkin carvers living under my very own roof?

A Bittersweet Time

Today I am sitting here typing after a sleepless night. Even now the tears are blurring my screen. Yesterday Gary's mom called and told me, between sobs, that her dear husband had passed away. He had been very sick for a while, and had recently been given three years to live, but it was a shock all the same. We thought that we would have three years, not three weeks. I know that he was in a lot of pain, even more than he ever let on. I am still in shock. I can't even think of the right words say right now. I will give a more appropriate memorial to him when I can think straight. But I can say right now how greatful I am for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am so greatful that he and his wife were sealed to each other for time and eternity. I am so greatful to know that we will see him again and that he is now embraced in the arms of his parents and all those that went before him. I am so greatful that he has no more pain and that he can walk, no he can RUN! He can do the things that he wanted to do that his health kept him from doing. There are so many things that I will miss about him, like his famous mashed potatoes and drink that he would make for Thanksgiving. I will miss his sense of humor. I will miss listening to him and Gary talk about work. I will miss how he would take Garrett out and show him the stars through his massive telescope. Garrett is so much like him and I think he may have been the only person who really understood him. I know that Gary will miss going to the Priesthood session with him. It was a tradition for them.

At times like these I feel so blessed to know that life does continue on. That there is a heaven. That things happen for a reason. That the gospel is true and all the things that I have been taught since before I can remember are true.

That families are forever.

Pumpkinland

Garrett and Natalie climbing the slide

Playing on the swings
Lily sucking her thumb with a little cold, red nose

Picture that Garrett took of himself on the ride home

When I was little I remember my parents taking me and my sister to Pumpkinland to pick out pumpkins. Then we would go home and carve them or paint them. Every year. My parents loved Halloween and made it so much fun for us. They would make these amazing costumes for our whole family and we would all go trick-or-treating. I have to admit, I'm not so talented in the costume department. We just buy them. And we haven't always even had pumpkins or carved them. And it makes me feel so bad for my poor kids. So this year I took them to Pumpkinland. It's changed a lot since I was a kid. Like now they have big blow up slides to play on. We spent a couple of hours finding our way through the corn maze. Then we played on the slides. At the end, they each got to choose their very own pumpkin. We plan on carving them (Natalie wants to paint hers) for FHE next monday. It was so much fun just watching my kids have fun and laugh and see their little red noses from the chill in the air. It's times like these that remind me how much fun it is to be a mom.

Update on Yesterday

So Gary got mad at me after reading yesterday's post and said, "How would you like it if (Nabby's teacher) wrote that about her?" So I just have to say it's not always so hard babysitting.  The kids are actually pretty cute and pretty good most of the time.  Of course, it's not always easy taking care of 6 kids especially when two of them are not what you are used to dealing with.  And I'm sure if someone were to watch my kids on a daily basis they would probably say the same thing.  And then Gary told me to write down 5 GOOD things that happened yesterday.  I couldn't think of any...but here goes anyway:

1. Nobody actually shot me yesterday.

2. I went over and talked to my friend and sat on her deck and enjoyed the beautiful weather and was treated to a cherry limeaide.

3. Sara walked around the house calling herself Pinkalicious and it was really cute.

4. I got to snuggle my sweet boy when he got home from school and look at his super cute Halloween picture that he drew and was so proud of.

5. I got to spend 7 minutes with Gary (even though I was pretty grouchy) during his class break.

So I guess at least 5 good things happened.

My complain session

Okay, so usually I try to keep this pretty positive, but today I am having one of those days.  It has been the longest day and it's not over yet.  You know, one of those days that you just want to curl up and go to bed so that the day will just end already.  Yeah.  That bad.  So here it goes...

I rolled out of bed at 6:49am after a long night of playing musical beds and getting no sleep at all.  I hopped in the shower and got dressed.  Walked into the kitchen to discover that I had not done the dishes and there were no clean spoons.  Made the decision to make eggs (no spoon needed).  Got sidetracked by dirty dishes.  Almost had the dishwasher loaded when Natalie came in and wanted cereal.  Washed a bowl and spoon by hand and poured her some.  Then the doorbell rang and it was time for my long day of babysitting to begin.  I set the baby down and tried to get the little girl to play with Natalie.  She went to the door and cried for her mom, very loudly.  Which then made the baby cry, very loudly.  Which then woke up Gary.  So I made him some eggs and took them to him in bed (to make up for being woken up by screaming).  Which woke up Sara.  So I made her some eggs.  Then Natalie decided that she wanted eggs and Gary decided that he wanted cereal.  So...I started on Natalie's eggs and washed the spoon and bowl out for Gary (because the other dishes were all in the dishwasher) which totally disgusted Gary but what can you do...Then I finally had the chance to start on my eggs, which the little girl decided were hers and whined until I gave in and gave them to her.  So then Garrett refused to come upstairs so Gary went and got him and started getting him cereal while I washed off the "family spoon".  Thankfully, Sara did not finish her eggs so I got to eat half of a cold egg (which the little girl wanted but I said "NO!").  And that was just the hour and a half before I got the kids off to school.

And basically my whole day has consisted of screaming, crying, whining "I want my mommy", "is my hair messy? put some hairspray in it" "I'm hungry, can I have your soup? (no it is MINE  you had a sandwich, jello, a fruit roll AND some chicken noodle soup)" "I don't want to play outside, my shoes will get dirty" and being followed around like a puppy.  And I still have an hour and a half left, my house is sooo messy and I don't have the energy to clean it, the laundry could rival Mt. Everest, I'm starting to totally stress binge and I don't even have any make up on!!!! Somebody shoot me please!!!!

I'm sure tomorrow will be better.

Tag

I have been tagged. This is the first time, so thank you because I needed something to write because nothing too interesting has happened.

8 TV shows I love to watch:
1. Grey's Anatomy ( I know, inappropriate)
2. American Idol
3. Extreme Home Makeover
4. Desperate Housewives (also inappropriate)
5. America's Next Top Model
6. So you think you can dance
7. 24
8. I can't think of any more.

8 things that happened yesterday:
1. woke up
2. ate breakfast
3. made banana bread
4. watched a fabulous session of conference
5. hid from my kids so I could take an uninterupted nap
6. watched another fabulous session of conference
7. made dinner
8. forced my family to clean up the house so I wouldn't have to wake up to a messy house

8 favorite places to eat
1. Olive Garden
2. Chef's Table
3. Panda Express
4. Bamboo Hut
5. Main street Pizza in Park City
6. Ghirardelli square in San Francisco
7. Spaghetti Factory
8. Pretty much anywhere that I don't have to cook

8 things I'm looking forward to:
1. Skiing!
2. Garrett's baptism
3. the holidays
4. Halloween
5. getting out of debt
6. snow
7. sitting by the fire
8. a clean house

8 things on my wish list:
1. A trip to Disneyland with my kids (or a Disney cruise)
2. A trip with just Gary
3. A condo in Park City
4. a cabin somewhere
5. travel the world
6. hike everest base camp with Gary
7. a clean house
8. a maid

8 people I tag:
1. The 8 people who actually read my blog...

Ah, Fall

I just absolutely love fall! I love when the leaves begin to change,

I love the crispness in the air, I love pumpkins. I love trading in my summer clothes for my sweaters and long sleeves.

I love making soup on a chilly day. I love waking up, making some hot cocoa, and sitting by the fire all snuggled up with my kids.

I love walking my kids to school and hearing the leaves crunch under my feet.

I love pumpkin pie and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. I love baking.

I love hiking up at Sundance with my hubby and my kids and seeing all the beautiful leaves.

I love going for long drives up in the canyon on a Sunday afternoon after church.

I love that I don't have to mow the lawn quite so often...

I love Halloween and seeing my kids so excited to dress up and eat candy. I love Halloween candy, especially the Halloween colored m&m's (I'm such a sucker for those themed M&M's. I just can't seem to pass them up).

I love the peacefulness that I feel before all of the crazy holiday stuff begins.

I love fall.

Lily Billy

Lilian Rachel Walters on her birthday

6 months old



I was realizing as I read through my blog that I have not posted anything about my little Lily Billy! For those of you that don't know, Lily is our 4th (and hopefully last) baby. She's 7 months old. She was born on February 6, 2008, weighing in at a whopping 5lbs. 8 oz. I can't remember how long she was....She was born a month early because of some preeclampsia complications. Thankfully, because of my toxic body, her lungs were forced to develop quickly and so she didn't have to spend any time in NICU. She is still so tiny compared to the other babies her age in our neighborhood. She looks like she might be about 4 or 5 months old. The things I love about Lily are:



1. When she sleeps, she covers her eyes with one arm, and sucks her thumb with the other hand, with one little finger over her nose. It is seriously the cutest thing I have ever seen!



2. She sleeps through the night, and has for most of her life.



3. She never cries. She just lays in her bed, sucking her thumb until I get around to getting her out.



4. She's learning to crawl. She gets up on her hands and knees and propells herself forward. She actually can really get around that way.



5. She looks just like Garrett did as a baby. If I were to put his old baby clothes on her and take some pictures, I would not be able to tell them apart. We call her Garrett's twin, which makes him happy because he really wanted a brother and cried when he found out that we were having yet another girl. So, having a twin is the next best thing.



6. EVERYTHING! I could go on and on about how much I love Lily. She really is such a perfect baby.



I really must have done something right to get such a wonderful family....

My Extreme Makeover (Warning: This post is pretty vain)

The other day as I was putting my hair in yet another pony tail, and noticing the not so fun grey hairs that have recently appeared (what the heck! I'm not even thirty yet!), I realized that I had not gotten my hair cut or colored in around 6 or 7 months. So I immediately checked my budget (to make sure that I wouldn't use the grocery money again), and then went and called Amie Cook's wonderful sister Ally to set up an appointment. I was seriously starting to look like one of those polygamist women from the YFZ Ranch, although I hadn't quite mastered that super cool braid thing that they all seem to wear. And for once I had no idea what I wanted done. So I let Ally do her thing and 2 1/2 hours later I feel fabulous! And no more grey! Yay! Oh, it feels so nice to be me again....Now I just need to budget in some glitter toes!

BTW...If you are wondering about the budget, it is a horrible thing that my wonderful husband inflicted upon me to curb my shopping addiction. Plus...he doesn't think that I can actually live by a budget so of course I have to prove him wrong...right?

Life in Perspective

The last two weeks we went without groceries because I didn't budget very well and had some unseen things come up. So we've had to live off of our food storage for a few days. I even broke out the 72 hour kits to discover that everything in them had gone bad (apparently you are supposed to rotate what you put in them and they don't just last forever. who knew?). It was so hard for me to listen to my kids cry about how hungry they were. Now granted we have plenty of food storage (not a year's worth, but definitely enough for two weeks). But of course, my children aren't used to eating oatmeal or beans and rice and complained bitterly. Which made me really reevaluate my food storage. It would break my heart to see my children so miserable without the knowledge that I will have the money to go grocery shopping tomorrow. It also gave me a very small taste of what some people go through every month. And it made me think. What can I do to prepare my family for the worst that will eventually come? I keep thinking back to the scripture that says if you are prepared you will have no fear (sorry, I'm not that great at remembering scriptures). So then I thought about all of the other things that we have to worry about besides filling our tummies. Like the spiritual things. What have I done to prepare my children for the things that they will have to deal with. Garrett will be turning 8 years old in November. Have I taught him enough? I've always had a testimony of prayer. In fact prayer was the only thing that got me through some really tough times growing up. But my children never see me pray. How will they know unless I teach them. I love the scriptures, but do my children ever see me read them? Have I ever told them how greatful I am for the gospel? Nope. I guess I have a lot to work on. But is it too late? Gosh, I hope not.

Update

Okay, so I'm a little behind on my blogging. I've been pretty busy. So, here are the updates....

August 28th was Natalie's very first day of Kindergarten! It took us an hour to do her hair and made her a little bit late, but she looked adorable. She was so good and went right in and found her spot at her table (a table with mostly boys). After she told me all about the new friends that she made and the two cute boys in her class. I'm sure she'll have a great year, if I can just get her to focus on the school work!

Our next major event was Sara getting her new big girl bed. She kept rolling out of her toddler bed onto the floor and then she would roll under her bed and get stuck. She hasn't fallen out of her new bed yet! She looks so tiny laying in that great big bed. She also got to move out of the nursery and into her very own bedroom! We're just putting the finishing touches on it and then we'll post some pictures.



Next in line of events...Natalie's stage! Natalie, being the rockstar diva that she is, decided that she just had to have a stage in her bedroom. So...my dad, being the pushover/wonderful grandpa that he is, built one for her. It took two big guys to carry it down the stairs into her room, but once there it was adorable. Now some of the girls in the neighborhood are asking for stages in their rooms. I know, I know. She's is SO spoiled. But...she's just so stinkin' cute it's hard to say no!

And next up...

Gary went to San Francisco for a couple of days for his first day of school. He wouldn't let me take any pictures of him. I tried to get him to stand by the door with his backpack, but he wouldn't go for it. He had a really good time while he was there. He said it's nice to be around so many smart people. What's that supposed to mean? I think he's trying to say that I'm not very smart...Oh well.

And last...

Last night I went out to dinner with some friends. While we were there, we got on the subject of Wii. Now, being the anti-videogame because they kill brain cells person that I am, I had never actually played one. So...after dinner we went over to my friend Lindsey's house and played Rockband. Okay, I have to admit, it was REALLY fun! I was pretty horrible at it, but I kind of got the hang of it. But that doesn't mean I'm going to go out and buy it now...

Or does it...

Hooray for School!

Today was Garrett's first day as a second grader! Part of me is sad that the summer is just about over, but the rest of me is definitely ready for the return to the routine that school brings. Natalie, Sara, Lily, and I all walked Garrett to his class and as soon as we walked through the door a bunch of kids yelled, "Hi Garrett!" so I'm thinking he'll have a great year. After school Garrett said that he found his friends from last year and they played at recess and ate lunch together. He seemed very happy and excited. Tomorrow is Natalie's kindergarten assessment to see if she's ready for school. Then she starts school next week. I am so excited for her! I know that she will LOVE being a kindergartner. Last year she said that she didn't like preschool because it was "soooo boooring" but I think she'll have so much fun learning new things and meeting new friends.

Happy Birthday, Gary!

Yesterday was Gary's 31st birthday! We went out to lunch with his parents. While we were there Cheryl asked me if I remembered the first time I noticed Gary. Of course! We were in band together but I didn't get my notoriously infamous crush on him until the summer before my sophomore year. We were in a summer jazz band clinic together. We both played the sax, he played alto, I played tenor. I was sitting there and looked over and there he was with his shiny new saxophone, his tan skin, gorgeous eyes. Maybe it was really the shiny new sax that I fell in love with...just kidding. It's really strange to think back because although I was EXTREMELY boy crazy, he wasn't really the type that I usually fell for. He was quiet and I liked them loud. And we were complete opposites. And he couldn't stand me (couldn't blame him really, I was very obnoxious). In spite of all of that, something inside of me just knew that I would marry him some day. And 9 1/2 years later, through the good and the bad, I am so glad that I did!

He's the one who keeps me grounded. He makes me laugh almost daily. He's a wonderful father. He works so hard to provide for his family. He's so stinkin' smart it scares me! He's always reminding me of what is really important in life. He inspires me. And he's so proud of me when I accomplish my goals. I love him soooo much!

When he got home from work we all went for a walk around the spanish fork reservoir, let the kids play in the sand, and just sat. That night after the kids went to bed, he had to finish up some work so I stayed up (with help from the 4 Dr. Peppers I had at lunch) and sewed while he typed. At about midnight we went out and looked for the meteor shower that was supposed to be going on and only saw a few. But I couldn't help thinking the whole time how nice it is to just be able to sit and not say anything and be perfectly content.

I am a dork

I think I may be the only female on the planet who has not read Breaking Dawn. I've heard that it is the best one in the series. And I probably should just go out and buy it. But once I start reading, I won't be able to stop. Which is a very bad thing because nothing gets done when I am on a non-stop reading binge. Maybe when my kids start school and aren't home destroying the house. On a side note, my sister called me a dork because I was talking to her on the phone and spontaneously re-wrote the lyrics to a popular, yet controversial song. It goes a little something like this (this one's for you Chan!): "I ate a pea and I liked it. The sweet, soft and gushy green-ness. I ate a pea just to try it. I know my mommy won't mind it. It felt so wrong it felt so right, I'm sure I'll throw it up tonight. I ate a pea and I liked it. I liked it." I was inspired by Lily's first attempt at trying "real" food. I know, I know. Don't quit my day job.

Where did the summer go?

So today I registered my two oldest for school, which leaves me thinking...Where did the summer go? Is it just me, or is time seeming to go faster? I called my sister and she was already talking about the Halloween decorations that she wants to make. And I realized today that my tiny little baby Lily is almost (next week) six months old. It's crazy how fast they grow up!

10K! Yay!

Today I (Amy) ran my very first 10K (6.2 miles)! I decided yesterday to do it. I only had 3 goals............#1. Finish the race. #2. Run the whole way. #3. Not be last. I'm proud to say all three goals were accomplished. The first mile was all uphill and I thought I would die. But after that I got into my pace (13 minute mile...very slow) and I just kept running like Forrest Gump. There were a lot of walkers. Some of the people would run really fast, then walk, then run really fast, then walk. But I just wanted to see if I could run the whole way. It was really fun and I want to do it again next year. My goal for next year is a 10 minute mile or less. Before today the longest I had ran was 2 1/2 miles. If you had told me even a week ago that I would run the 10K today I would have laughed! But I did it!!!! Yay! (Only 20 more to go for a marathon...)

Natalie's Birthday

Ali and Brinley dancing in the fog

Natalie's "Hannah Montana" cake

Pinata Time! (this was taken after some kids had gone home)

Sara

Sicily, Carter and Brinley making bracelets

Singing & Dancing

Opening Presents

OUR LITTLE ROCKSTAR

What a Bash! This year for Natalie's birthday she decided that she wanted to have a rockstar party. She invited all of her friends and almost all of them came. We ended up having 23 girls and 2 boys! All of the girls got "tatoos" and body art. Then they made bracelets. But I think the biggest hit was the karaoke/dance party going on in the theatre, complete with fog machine and LOUD music. It was fun watching the girls dance and sing to Hannah Montana, "High School Musical" and "Camp Rock."

P.S. Natalie is already planning next years!

Millsite

Golfing with Grandpa

Dash and Zoe

The monday before the 4th of July, we took our annual camping trip with my side of the family. We were there for three days. It was really fun watching the kids play with their cousins (and uncles, aunts and grandparents).




Garrett's favorite part was the little paddle boat that my parents brought and swimming in the lake. And golfing with Grandpa.



Natalie's favorite part was building sand castles and playing with Lindsey and Emily.




Sara's favorite part was the smores.



And Lily just slept most of the time.


On the last day, we all took showers and found some nice little ticks. So now we're pretty paranoid searching for them.

On the way home, we stopped at the dinosaur quarry. We had no idea that it would be about an hour out into the middle of nowhere. There were some hiking trails, but it was really really hot and so we decided it wouldn't be too great for our kids. It was cool seeing the dinosaur bones. It's hard to imagine that creatures so large were once on the earth.